In modern dairy farm industry there are continuous research and development activities in order to improve the efficiency of various activities such as machine milking, which, inter alia, involves increased milk yield and reduced milking time, while, naturally, ethical aspects as well as animal care are considered.
Machine milking, as known in the art, generally utilizes teat cups and vacuum sources to perform the milking function. In such systems each teat is contained within a teat cup having a teat receiving liner arranged within the teat cup next to the teat. A vacuum is applied to the interior of each receiving liner to draw the milk from the teat, with the teat receiving liners periodically opened and collapsed by application of a pulsating massage vacuum between the teat receiving liners and the inside of the teat cups. This periodic operation of the teat receiving liners results in the periodic flow of milk from the teats into a milk line, and constitutes the actual milking of the cow.
30-50% of the milking time is comprised of a latter phase of the milking when the milk flow is very low. One reason to the long milking time of such low milk flow phase is that the teat cups are creeping up on the teats of the animal which prevents appropriate milking.